Communist Party Leader: ‘Keep the Pressure on Obama to Take the Offensive’

Kyle Olson

3/8/2013 12:01:00 AM - Kyle Olson

Communist Party USA Executive Vice Chair Jarvis Tyner joined in a conference call with Wisconsin activists last week to talk about the “struggle” against budget cutters in the state and national governments.

Tyner is complimentary of President Obama and says now is the time for Obama and his allies in the labor movement to go “on the offensive” against those trying to rein in government spending and union political power.

“When Obama ran in 2008 and picked up all this support, and won the presidency, it was a mighty blow against racism. You may have criticism of some of his policies – which we certainly do – but in the … great sweep of history, his election was an advancement of democracy in the fight for democracy for all.

“And that is why we have never joined in the chorus of just abstractly, ‘he’s the same as Bush,’ and all this stuff because we have to look at this whole picture.

The defeat of racism has strengthened the labor movement – made it more radical, made it more militant, made it more consciously anti-racist – it has brought the labor movement into struggle against the corporations in a stronger way. In Wisconsin, you guys know pretty well what the labor movement has been up against and that’s the right wing.

And if you don’t think they use racism in that thing – of course, you do know.

But the thing is, we’re at a period now where we must take the offensive. If we don’t take the offensive, then we’re gonna be pushed back. And we gotta keep the pressure on Obama to take the offensive. He’s speaking very well now – the words are good. But how do we defeat them?”